Author: David

The plant which inspired George de Mestral to invent Velcro.

This impressive spider’s web was stretched across a gorse bush in Sutton Park. I couldn’t see any sign of the spider itself.

Young of a harlequin ladybird. This invasive species is growing rapidly in numbers and is a threat to native species.

From rather further afield than normal. These lizards were sunning themselves in early August on posts by several of the disused small quarries along the minor road between Ludlow and Burrington.

The broader lizards are the females; the darker small ones are young, born perhaps a month previously.

These birds were seen during a couple of days’ stay in Ludlow earlier this month. It’s a little bit further afield than most postings, but it would just about have been possible to see them on a day trip. The jackdaw, above, was one of the flock in the centre of town, around the church. – This one was on the corner of the roof of Hosyer’s Alms-houses by the church – evidently a regular perch.

A swan feeding by Casemill Weir on the river Tame gave an unusual angle of view.

This swallow on a phone line appeared to be thinking: perhaps about the approaching flight south.

And this young heron was fishing from Mill Street Weir.

Early one morning, early in August, this hedgehog was collecting dead leaves and carrying them back into a pile of pruned twigs. It may have started before I noticed it, and carried on for at least half an hour while I was there, though it made a couple of pauses to retreat into the twig pile when a neighbour’s cat came round on the prowl.